Fate
by Lady Keruri
Summary: NEW RENDITION OF "What You Don't Realize". When will Sasuke see that she was perfect for him? When will Sakura see that the boy right under her nose has always been there for her? When will Naruto finally overcome the odds and thrive in Konoha High?
1. Prologue

**Just as a quick warning--this prologue contains suicidal material.**

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_xXx Karma xXx_

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I felt like killing myself.

I'd always made fun of those kids who were emotionally influenced enough by the world to want to do the same--the 'emo' kids that sat around on the bottom of the concrete steps at Konoha High. They always wore black eyeliner and they sat around on the computer, posting dark and depressing poetry on Myspace so that their friends could pity them and attempt to comfort them. They were pathetic and weak, and they were always moaning and bitching about some girlfriend who left them or their 'inner demons' or some bullshit like that.

And now I was one of them. I shouldn't have pushed her away. She really was the only one who made me happy, the only one who could make me forget my demented brother and the loss of my parents. She was the only one who made me feel as if I truly were superior and elite, rather than just pretending that I was. She could drag me out of his depression and back into the light. She was sunshine and flowers and happiness and light--not in the hokey way, like a lot of girls were, but real, tangible. She was the perfect girl.

And I'd thrown it all away with two hands.

But that wasn't all that made me want to cause my own demise (currently I planned on using the razor blade in my pocket to my own wrist). Instead of just leaving him and that be that, she went and fell in love with his best friend. The best friend with the same dreams and hopes of being noticed for themselves for a change, not for family or name. Not for the secrets and scandal. The best friend with a serious problem with letting go, just like me, and the same stubborn attitude.

He'd loved her since I don't know when, but he knew that, even if I never said it, I loved her as well--so he kept his mouth shut. He would have suffered for my--his best friend's--happiness.

God, the blood feels so good. Maybe I can escape the pain of this stupid, pointless life. Maybe I'll save others from pain and suffering in the future. Maybe if they forget about me after I die, they won't have to dwell on my problems and my brooding self. I know it gets annoying to others. I don't care. Or, maybe I do, and that's why I want to die.

It doesn't even make a sound as it hits the floor. It mixes in with a puddle of rainwater and oil in the parking lot, and it makes beautiful designs and swirls in rainbow colors.

And Itachi... the pain of losing my parents was enough, even though my father was gruff and not that great at parenting. No, to place a big red cherry on top, perched precariously atop the bodies of my parents and dripping its red juices, was my big brother. My mentor, my role model. I'll never forget the look in his eyes as he held that kitchen knife in his hand. Calm, apathetic.

Why? Why didn't you kill me, too, brother? It would have saved me the inconvenience of doing it myself. I guess karma knew that I'd turn out to be an asshole, so it decided to let me suffer awhile before I broke down.

Those kids lied in all their poetry--I felt each and every stroke of the blade and the steel piercing through my skin as I prepared to die.


	2. Chapter 1

_**xXx**__** The Nerd **__**xXx**_

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The blond, spiky-headed kid sat near the front of the classroom, his bad vision making him required to do so or he wouldn't have. He'd failed this class multiple times before--why did biology matter so much, anyway? He was clad in the usual--a loose fitting black hoodie over a loose fitting black tee shirt and a pair of slightly-too-short hand-me-down bluejeans from somewhere in the 80's that just came short of his feet, which were covered in grubby sneakers that were once white. His eyes were a pretty shade of blue, with "come-hither eyelashes"--but they were strangely magnified and hidden by thick glasses. The right side of his face had three pearly white scars that stood out and created shadows when thrown into relief--the aftermath of something that had to do with his criminal mother and father, no doubt. His teeth were white, but not bleached, like the other guys and girls could. Naruto just didn't have the money or wherewithall to get the whitening strips required to do so. His smile lit up his face and made him look three hundred times more attractive--but in order to do that, he would have to smile. Not a fake one, as he usually gave, but his _real _smile. He hadn't done that since he was about six years old.

And he was now 16.

Naruto Uzumaki sat back in his desk, his cerulean eyes scanning the cards he'd just received from last night's _Magic: The Gathering _"draft" mini-tournament. Pictures of dragons flashed before his eyes as he counted, and he grinned when he came to the _Dragon Broodmate _card. _That should definitely improve my deck, _he thought. He pushed up his rectangular, dark-rimmed glasses, prepared to count the number of lands in his deck, when-

"Naruto!"

The blond jumped when his name was called by none other than Jiraiya, the biology teacher. Jiraiya was a large, imposing person--though really he was just a perverted puppy-dog on the inside--but that didn't stop people from avoiding him. The only people he really got along with were favorite students, Tsunade, and cute "barely legal" girls. Naruto quickly put the cards into the pocket of his _Iron Maiden _hoodie. "Y-yeah?!" he squeaked, his newly maturing voice still apt to cracking. The girls in the class giggled stupidly.

"I just asked you a question…aren't you going to answer? What is a gamete?"

"Err…"

The white-haired professor sighed. "Talk to me after class."

Naruto sank into his seat, his face turning red and his blue eyes downcast at the faces the other tenth graders made at him once Jiraiya had turned to continue his lecture. He reached up a hand to brush the three scars on his right cheek out of nervous habit.

Then the bell rang for lunch, and Naruto raced out the door before Jiraiya could stop him.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I can't believe he did that to you!"

Sakura's platinum-blonde friend Ino just would not stop saying this phrase over and over again. Sakura's nose, eyes, and cheeks were as pink as her long hair due to her nonstop crying. Hinata had her hands to her mouth, looking empathetic and confused as to what to do to comfort her friend, Neji looked...bored, and Tenten couldn't keep her eyes off of Neji, her boyfriend.

The reason for Sakura's misery stood on the opposing end of the cafeteria, leaning against the wall and completely ignoring the world around him. He was...tall, dark, and handsome. He wore a navy tee with the sleeves cut off, revealing perfectly toned arm muscles that twitched and jumped when he moved. His Abercrombie and Fitch designer jeans hugged his ample backside juuuust right. His eyes were black and mysterious-looking, and he always wore a scowl on his face, which for some reason looked extremely sexy on him. He ran a pale hand with long fingers through ravenesque hair which shined majestically from the sunlight filtering through the glass cafeteria doors. A horde of girls stood a bit away from him, whispering and giggling excitedly whenever the boy moved at all. The seventeen-year-old's name was Sasuke Uchiha.

He'd just moved here from some undisclosed location, and rumor had it that he'd committed some heinous crime or another and gotten himself kicked out of every school in his state. This only made him more attractive to the girls, to Sasuke's annoyance.

Sakura, minutes before, had tried to ask him out on a date, the eyes of every girl following her every move. She was, of course, rejected, but when Sasuke proceeded to tell her that he never went out with slutty pink-headed freaks, she sort of broke down. The fangirls looked relieved and viciously happy when Sakura slumped off with her best friend helping to drag her away.

Sakura blinked through thick black lashes, tears still leaking out of her jade eyes. "Maybe...maybe he's just got stress issues," she sniffled, protecting the boy she liked even if he was a jerk. Ino smacked the back of Sakura's head, who emitted a small 'ow!'

"Don't be stupid! He's just an ass who thinks he's all that and a bag of potato chips. Hopefully he'll pull his head out of his butt so he can see where he's going in life."

Sakura listened to Ino's screeching for a few moments when her eyes fell on a boy sitting alone a few tables away. He chewed on a PB&J sandwich out of a brown paper bag, looking downcast. He was grubby and wore tattered, misfitting clothing and donned dark glasses. After a few moments he sighed and scratched his blond head. Everything about this boy looked so...forlorn. The slight bow of his head. The way he used his arms to make a sort of shield around him. The way his eyes always looked down. The way his spine curved so that he slouched dejectedly all of the time. The way he looked ready to cry at any moment.

Sakura's lip trembled. In that moment, she felt just like that boy. She sniffled, wiped tears (and a bit of unflattering snot) away and stood up. She picked up her tray and marched towards the blond boy purposefully. Ino had stopped hissing into Sakura's ear and was now staring along with Hinata (Neji didn't care and Tenten was still staring at Neji).

She plopped down next to the blond boy and looked at him. She recognized his face now--the boy who was always picked on because of his parents. She'd heard rumors of his living in a foster home somewhere, never being adopted because nobody wanted the son of two serial killers. The hand-me-down clothing gave rise to this vicious, but probably true, rumor. He winced slightly and his muscles tensed, but he didn't look at her. He looked ready to be attacked or something.

"Hello," she said briskly. "I'm Sakura."

The boy cleared his throat and put down his sandwich, raising his eyes finally. "Um...I'm Naruto...but I already knew you, Sakura."

"What? How do you know me already?" Sakura asked curiously.

Naruto pushed up his glasses, magnifying his eyes to buglike proportions. "I'm...uh...I'm in your math class..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto's heart raced wildly. The girl of his dreams--literally and figuratively--had just randomly walked over to him and introduced herself. Well, at least now she'd acknowledged him...

Sakura was so pretty and nice (what with her ample curves that graced her hips and sparkling green eyes), and she was really smart, too. It always seemed that she was polite but usually overshadowed by others who demanded more spotlight and prominence in the school. She wasn't really popular, but she had a group of close friends. He loved that gray-green color of her eyes and her soft smile she gave everyone, and...her Southern accent. Yep, Sakura had a bit of a twang. Naruto learned from others that she'd lived in Alabama until she was eight, then moved here to California. She'd kept the accent ever since, though it had grown less pronounced over the years.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she said, "Oh...I guess you're just really quiet in Mr. Hatake's class, then..." the look on her face radiated guilt.

Naruto gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I don't talk a lot in class if I can help it."

"Well," she said, leaning closer. "Whyever not?"

"I, uh..." Naruto's face turned beet red. "I'm kinda...shy, I guess."

Sakura laughed. "Well, this is one way to meet people, huh?"

Naruto's face slowly began to turn back to its original color. "Yeah...sure..."

Sakura gestured to her friends two tables away, where Kiba had just arrived to sit next to Hinata. "You wanna sit with us?"

Naruto looked alarmed. "D-d'you think that'd be okay?"

Sakura's grin practically sparkled. "Of course!" She grabbed his hand (which was surprisingly rough) and dragged him over to the table.

As soon as Naruto plopped down on the other side of Kiba, he knew that nobody, save Sakura, would welcome him easily. Kiba, the brunette, looked at him like a wild dog would look at its prey. Ino's crystal blue eyes sized him up across the table, Hinata's pale gaze shifted away from him uneasily to focus upon her fingers, which she poked together nervously, Neji gave him a scrutinizing glance before looking bored again, and even Tenten gave him an evil glare before ogling her boyfriend once again.

"Um...hey." Naruto's naturally gravelly voice rose up an octave as he spoke. He cleared his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Yeah..." Kiba gestured vaguely with his hand as a forced polite gesture of welcome. "Name's Kiba. You're Naruto U--Naruto." Kiba skipped over the last name, not wanting to make the tense atmosphere any worse than it already was.

The others mumbled their introductions before beginning conversation again with one another, leaving Naruto alone at the end of the table. Sakura looked at him with sympathy. "Guys, come on," she said. "I know about the rumors and everything, but...can you at least _try _talking to Naruto? None of you have actually _spoken_ to him, have you?"

Naruto was horrified. Okay, so that was ballsy of Sakura to say out loud, but...he didn't want to feel as if she needed to protect him. "No, really, I'm used to it--" he stammered, but Sakura shot him a look that silenced him instantly. The table got very quiet. In fact, the four table surrounding them were quiet as well, attempting to listen to the conversation and picking up any information that could be passed along in rumors.

"Okay," Kiba finally said, too impatient to wait for someone else to break the tension. One thing he hated was awkward silences. "So, Naruto...tell us something about you. What do you like to do?"

Naruto's throat felt as if it would close up. "Uhh...well, I like to play video games. The old ones from the '90s, like _Final Fantasy VII _and pretty much every Sega Genesis game."

Everyone but Kiba and Naruto turned their heads towards Kiba, like some weird tennis match. Kiba's face suddenly got less tense. "Hey! I love video games, too! The old ones were the best...Do you remember _Golden Axe_?" Kiba said.

"Oh, Jesus," Neji said, speaking for the first time. "You got him to talk about video games..." It was a known fact that Kiba was obsessed. He loved every game that was ever released right from the day he came out of his mother's womb. Tenten giggled and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, and Neji looked at her and smiled for a moment before looking bored again.

Naruto let out a short laugh. "Yeah! Oh, man, I played that when I was like, six years old or something!"

The exclamation seemed to break something tangible in the air, and soon the four surrounding tables became disinterested and the chatter began again. The rest of the table began talking to Naruto, asking him questions, and they learned that he loved foxes, the color orange, he liked to play card games of any type, he knew some kung fu, he liked to paint and make messes, he loved playing pranks on people, and that he loved heavy metal. Hinata bravely asked, "Are there any girls at this school that you like?" Naruto's face became very blank, but he couldn't help glancing quickly at the pink-haired tenth-grader next to him. He grinned his fake grin, closing his eyes and rubbing the back of his head.

"Uhh...no, not really..."

Ino finally asked, "So...where do you live?"

The blond nerd stuttered into silence for a moment before hanging his head and mumbling, "Foster home."

But instead of scoffing or looking shocked, Ino just said, "Yeah, I used to be in one, too. Sometimes it sucks, but I guess overall it's okay. It just got lonely without real parents."

Naruto looked up, his shame quickly forgotten. "Really?" But then his face fell. "But...nobody wants me. I've been there for _years_ and nobody will adopt me."

Hinata spoke up. "Well, Naruto, maybe it's because they all believe that you did something bad...like..." her voice trailed off before she could say 'your parents'. "But, so far, you're really nice, so..."

"People judge upon appearances," Sakura said matter-of-factly, eyeballing the group. Everyone (except Neji, who didn't care) avoided her eyes. "But Naruto, maybe we could be friends, and then you could visit us and not always have to be in the home."

"There's a problem with that," said Tenten. Everyone looked her way, getting the drift from her knowing look.

"Our parents," the group (excluding Naruto) said in unison.


	3. Chapter 2

**I'd like to apologize to all of my fans for my EXTREMELY extended absence. I've had so many weird things happen this past year--good, bad, and ugly--and all of these experiences have actually changed some of my outlooks on life. I am a new writer with new ideas and a bit of a new style, so, hopefully all of you will still enjoy my writing.**

**I thank my fans for sticking with me, especially _orange sheep of the flock. _*Huggle* it was so nice to get a review from a familiar person. I promise to keep writing quality work and to work on this story whenever I'm in front of a computer. I will attempt to make longer chapters, and continue to write in differing points of view.**

**However, I'm keeping this chapter short, just to illustrate why Sasuke's such a little bitch. ^w^**

**_Fate _will be much like _What You Don't Realize, _the same basic plotline but with some major and minor differences. There WILL be Sasu/Saku moments, but I'll try to sneak in more Naru/Saku plus some other pairings.**

**And for those who haven't read _What You Don't Realize, _thanks for stopping by on an unfamiliar story! I do recommend reading _What You Don't Realize, _if only to get a feel for what's happening next. However, if you don't like surprises or SPOILERS, DON'T READ IT!**

**Thanks to all of my faithful fans,**

**Lady Keruri.**

**_Naruto _and its characters do not belong to me. **

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**xXx Brother xXx**

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_"Brother! Come play with me!"_

_The seven-year-old raven bounced up and down, tugging on the back of his brother's shirt and whining._

_Itachi Uchiha turned in the spinning desk chair and looked down at his little brother over his reading glasses, the computer screen glowing with a half-typed essay still open._

_"Sasuke...I can't, I've got to finish my homework," Itachi sighed, sounding exasperated. Itachi didn't his brother at all. In fact, he _hated _his little brother. Sasuke always was praised, loved, and even received approving compliments from their father. It was a forced front to be the "model big brother" to Sasuke._

_Sasuke's wide, black eyes shone with disappointment._

_"Aww, but you're _always _working, big brother! Why can't you take a break or something?"_

_Itachi glanced up at his father, who met his gaze with a threatening look. There was never a break for Itachi, the one raised to be the best. It was tradition in the Uchiha family--it had been for generations--for the firstborn to be the symbol of honor and perfection of the family. Secondborns weren't. And this family was not going to break that tradition._

_Itachi looked back at his brother and poked his forehead with two fingers. Sasuke scowled. "I'm sorry, little brother, but if I don't keep going, I'll never finish...I promise to play with you--when I have free time." Itachi knew, however, that it was an empty promise--Itachi would never get any free time._

_Sasuke crossed his arms. "You always say that," he muttered. Sasuke then walked away, sulking. Itachi turned around again to do his homework, seething quietly._

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_It was Friday afternoon. Little Sasuke watched the clock tick the seconds away until the school week was over. His second-grade teacher, Mrs. Howell, was currently teaching the capitals of the United States and the pneumonics to remember them._

_"Montpelier, Vermont: 'The VARMINT made sheets of rock with its MOUNTAIN PEELER,'" she said, getting a few giggles from the young children. The school bell rang._

_"Don't forget! Quiz on Monday on all of the capitals, so study hard!" she yelled over the sound of scuffing shoes, zipping backpacks and chatty kids. Sasuke was the first one out, ready to show his parents the 'A' he'd gotten on his spelling test he'd studied so hard for. He boarded the bus and could barely contain his excitement when it finally pulled up to his corner._

_He ran all the way down the street, waving his test in the air like a flag._

_"Mom! Dad! Itachi! I got an 'A'!" he yelled ahead. He burst through the door, not noticing that it was already slightly ajar instead of tightly locked as his father always insisted._

_He first arrived into the doorway and through to the living room. Nobody was there. He looked around, his panting the only sound heard in the room._

_"Hello?" He walked into the kitchen around the corner. His mother wasn't there, and there were no signs of dinner being made. _Maybe it's spaghetti night, _he thought, now frowning. He went back through the living room and to the upstairs hallway. When he turned he corner after the stairs and into the hall, his breath stopped._

_A trail of scarlet, with three footsteps visible in it and tracking through the carpet and into his parents' bedroom._

_He couldn't hear anything. He knew that his heart had started to beat more quickly, but there was a strange buzzing in his ears from the oppressive silence that kept him from hearing it._

_He walked down the hall, which seemed to get longer and longer, and accidentally stepped in some of the red. He winced as if someone had brandished a searing rod in his face when the disgusting squishing noise reached his ears._

_Sasuke opened his parents' bedroom door and opened his mouth in a silent scream._

_His mother and father were dead on the floor, their bodies mutilated--Sasuke saw limbs scattered across the room, saw that his father had no eyes--_

_"AAAAAUUUUUUUUGHHHHH!" A terrible scream emitted from his throat and he fell backwards onto the ground, cowering. He was shaking as if he had a seizure. His eyes kept rolling back in his head, but he didn't pass out._

_Then his brother came out of the shadows. Sasuke didn't see the knife he was holding._

_"Itachi! Itachi!" Sasuke sobbed, running to him and burying his face into his brother's blood-soaked shirt. Sasuke felt relieved that his brother was alive and at the same time horrified and scared, needing someone to comfort him._

_"Little brother," Itachi breathed, and then shoved Sasuke down onto the ground, where Sasuke landed next to his father's body and eyeless face._

_"Grreeeahhhh!" Sasuke scampered away on his hands and knees, now looking back at Itachi. Itachi wore a strange, blank look. Blood and gore spatters were evident all over Itachi's body, and Sasuke now saw the blood-stained chef's knife in his big brother's hand. Sasuke could not put two and two together. Surely....it was too terrible a thing to have happened, no, someone came and attacked his parents and Itachi was just protecting himself..._

_Right...? But then where was the attacker?_

_"That's right, Sasuke...I killed them. And now..." Itachi's eyes seemed to become dead. "I'm coming for you."_

_Police sirens blared suddenly, and flashing blue, white and red lights were the next thing that invaded Sasuke's vision. One second, Sasuke saw his brother's blood-covered face and the next, Itachi was gone. Then everything turned black..._

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Sasuke woke up, screaming and covered in sweat. Then he looked around for a moment and saw that he was alone in his own little crappy apartment.

He turned on his flickering lamp on the night table beside his bed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His raven locks were matted and soaked in his own sweat on the back of his head. How stupid. Here he was, almost eighteen and still having nightmares about his past. The alarm clock blared next to him, signifying that it was time to go to his new school.

Sasuke refused most of the government's protection, hating the fact that he had to run away from his brother. The hatred he felt for his brother ran deep and fierce and could outmatch any other person's hatred of another. The government insisted that he move to different places every so often, coming up with rumors of his expulsion every time. He also had a caretaker that called him every so often--Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was creepy and perverse on some deep mental level. Sasuke avoided him whenever he could, shivers going up his spine whenever Orochimaru sent a look his way. Orochimaru had this weird habit of licking his lips all of the time, and he had narrow, watery yellow eyes, giving him the appearance of a reptile. Like a snake or an alligator. Sasuke had never trusted him.

The raven threw the blankets off of him, standing to stretch and stripping his tank top as he did so. He walked to the shower, peeling off his clothing as he went and leaving a trail behind him. He turned the shower on ice-cold, like he liked it in the mornings. It helped him to focus.

He took the bus to school, the whole time staring out of the window and putting a hand on his backpack next to him in the seat, taking up any space that might have been another person who'd wanted to sit there. He put on his earphones and turned his iPod to his current favorite song, "Firstborn", and didn't turn it off until the bus had stopped, he'd gone to class, and sat down to listen to the lecture the teacher gave him.

He hated that all the girls wanted him. Really, he hated everything that didn't have to do with killing his brother. Yes...Sasuke's goal in life was to finally become brave and strong enough to confront his brother. It would kill his insides to let the government do it for him. Sasuke would never live peacefully.

The bell rang and he gathered his things for lunch. There, he met this girl with pink hair and green eyes...

For some reason, her face, devoid of all makeup and a bit shiny, but exuberant and alive, had attracted his attention. She even liked him. Any other guy in his shoes would have accepted her offer for a date. But not Sasuke.

"Uh...Sasuke...?" She'd asked shyly, but her eyes locked on his all the same.

"I w-was wondering...I don't know if you're busy, but...do you wanna go on a date sometime?" Her little hands were held in front of her, twisting themselves around each other.

He sent her off in tears, of course.

He could not afford to love someone. He couldn't afford to become weak.

Itachi Uchiha must die.


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